Home Ministry Forms Tribunal To Determine Ban On Meitei Extremist Organisations Of Manipur, 15 Days After Imposing UAPA

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal has been established by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is comprised of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, a judge from the Gauhati High Court.

The tribunal's purpose is to determine if there is enough evidence to label the Meitei Extremist Organisations of Manipur, including all their factions, wings, and front organisations, as "unlawful associations".

In a late-night notification on 28 November, the Ministry announced a decision made nearly 15 days post the declaration of numerous Meitei extremist groups, their divisions, branches, and front organisations as illegal associations. This was done under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and is set to last for a span of five years.

The Central Government, utilising its authority under sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), has established "The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal", according to Mint.

The organisations to be reviewed include the Peoples' Liberation Army (commonly known as PLA), its political branch the Revolutionary Peoples' Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its military branch the Manipur Peoples' Army (MPA), the Peoples' Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its military branch the "Red Army", the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its military branch, also named the "Red Army", the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom), the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK), and all their related factions, wings, and front organizations, according to the notification.

The MHA provided clarification that their actions were informed by intelligence indicating that all Meitei extremist groups - including the PLA and its political affiliate RPF, the UNLF and its military branch MPA, the PREPAK and its militant "Red Army", the KCP and its likewise named "Red Army", the KYKL, the CorCom, and the ASUK - all share the common objective of creating an independent state by separating Manipur from India via armed conflict, and inspiring the native population of Manipur to support such a separation.

Moreover, the MHA had previously stated that these Meitei Extremist Organisations were involved in activities that threatened the sovereignty and integrity of India. They used armed tactics to fulfill their aforementioned goals, including attacks and killings of Security Forces, Police, and Civilians in Manipur.

They were also known for intimidating, extorting, and looting the civilian population to gather funds for their organisations. Additionally, they were establishing connections with international sources to influence public opinion and obtain their support.

The method of acquiring weapons and training is utilised with the aim of accomplishing their separatist goal. Additionally, they maintain bases in nearby nations to serve as safe havens, training grounds, and covert sources for the procurement of arms and ammunition.

The Ministry had likewise stated that the actions of the Meitei extremist groups were viewed as "harmful to the sovereignty and unity of India, and that these groups are illegal associations".

Given the circumstances, the MHA expressed an urgent need to restrain and regulate Meitei extremist groups, suspecting they might exploit the situation to rally their members, thereby escalating their separatist, subversive, terroristic, and violent actions. They may spread anti-national activities in partnership with forces that threaten India's sovereignty and integrity, engage in civilian killings and target police and security forces, procure and smuggle illegal weapons from across the international border, and extort large sums of money from the public for their illegal activities.